Fire Fire, a new play by John Webber, will open at Arcola Theatre from 9 September to 3 October 2026 before embarking on a 16-venue tour across the East of England, Brighton and Birmingham.
Presented by Webber & Co. with Metal Rabbit in association with Harlow Playhouse, the drama explores the intersection of climate activism, class and identity against the backdrop of South Essex.
Drawing on Webber’s own experiences growing up and working in Thurrock, once one of the UK’s primary oil refining hubs, Fire Fire follows Paige, a middle-class queer activist of Nigerian heritage from Colchester, and Eddie, a retired oil worker.
The pair first meet in opposition at a country park, where Paige is protesting for climate action while Eddie attends a memorial for his brother. As their paths continue to cross, they discover a shared struggle to be heard and ultimately join forces in unexpected ways.
Described as a poignant two-hander, the production blends East Anglian folk traditions, fire rituals and an original live drumming soundtrack to examine the tensions between middle-class environmental activism and working-class economic realities.
Following its London run, Fire Fire will tour to venues across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Brighton, Solihull and Birmingham throughout October.
Writer John Webber said, “I grew up in Thurrock which is this slice of land that sits between the Thames and the A13 and should be marshes really. My housing estate is what you’d expect to find in any inner city from the 1960s – wall to wall concrete and nothing to do – but it’s surrounded by this Green Belt countryside. So as a kid I would walk out with my mates into the wheat fields, see cows, play in the disused abattoir – all the joys of the countryside. This play is full of that tension between the industrial and the bucolic in a way.”
Webber is an acclaimed playwright whose debut play Spiderfly was nominated for an OFFIE Award after its Theatre503 premiere. Director Jennifer Tang’s previous work includes Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok for the Royal Exchange, Cymbeline at Shakespeare’s Globe and Further Than the Furthest Thing at the Young Vic.
The production is directed by Jennifer Tang, with lighting design by Charly Dunford, sound design by Sarah Spencer, set and costume design by Peiyao Wang, and casting by Charlie Metcalf.
Fire Fire runs at Arcola Theatre, London, from 9 September to 3 October 2026, with a press night on 11 September, before touring from 6 to 24 October 2026.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
